Shaheen Highlights Bipartisan Work Underway to Crackdown on Robocalls that are Bombarding Granite Staters

**Shaheen Points to the 107 Million Robocalls that Were Directed at New Hampshire Phone Numbers Last Year**

At a press conference in Concord this afternoon, Shaheen was joined by the New Hampshire Department of Justice, AARP New Hampshire, the Public Utilities Commission and other Granite State stakeholders to discuss work underway to confront the scourge of robocalls.

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) held a press conference in Concord to discuss the bipartisan work underway to crackdown on disruptive robocalls. At the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, Shaheen discussed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act, bipartisan legislation she’s cosponsored that would give regulators more time to find scammers, increase penalties on those caught, promote call authentication and blocking adoption, and bring relevant federal agencies and state attorneys general together to evaluate policies and resources needed to better prosecute and deter illegal robocalls. Shaheen was joined by representatives from the New Hampshire Department of Justice, AARP, the Public Utilities Commission and The Duprey Companies.

“Granite Staters are experiencing an onslaught of intrusive and unwanted robocalls. Reports estimate that this year nearly half of all cellphone calls will come from scammers. It has to stop,” said Shaheen. “That is why I’m proud to cosponsor the TRACED Act, bipartisan legislation that would hold scammers accountable and provide consumers in New Hampshire and across the country with much-needed relief from illegal, disruptive robocalls. We need to ensure that small business owners aren’t forced to set aside their daily operations to answer fraudulent calls, that the life-saving work being conducted at hospitals is not interrupted by scam calls and that consumers maintain trust in our telephone communications systems. Congress can help meet those goals by passing the TRACED Act.”

Last year, Americans received 48 billion robocalls and approximately 107 million were to New Hampshire numbers. As one report estimated, the number of spam calls will grow from 29 percent of all phone calls in 2018 to 45 percent of all calls this year. The TRACED Act would give the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) more flexibility to enforce rules in the short term while setting in motion consultations to increase prosecutions of violations.

The legislation passed the Senate last month and similar legislation has been unveiled in the House of Representatives.